Speaker 1: Hi, this is Joel and Victoria.
Speaker 2: Thanks for listening to our podcast and thanks for supporting
Speaker 2: the ministry. If you enjoy today's message, why don't you
Speaker 2: be a blessing and share it with a friend. We
Speaker 2: appreciate you and pray for God's very best in your life.
Speaker 2: God bless you always, a joy to have you here,
Speaker 2: a joy to come into your homes. We are believing
Speaker 2: for God's very best in your life. And if you're
Speaker 2: ever in our area, I hope you'll stop by and
Speaker 2: be a part of one of our services. I promise
Speaker 2: you we'll make you feel right at home. But thanks
Speaker 2: so much for tuning in today, and thanks again for
Speaker 2: coming out. I like to start with something funny each week.
Speaker 2: And I heard about this scientist that said to God,
Speaker 2: we've decided that we no longer need you. We can
Speaker 2: clone people, we can transplant hearts, and do all kinds
Speaker 2: of things once considered miraculous. And God said, fine, but
Speaker 2: to see that you really don't need me, let's have
Speaker 2: a man making contest. The only rule is you have
Speaker 2: to make a man out of dirt. The scientist a greeding.
Speaker 2: He reached down quickly to get a handful of dirt
Speaker 2: God said, not so fast.
Speaker 1: Go get your own dirt, all right.
Speaker 2: Hold of your bibles. Say it like you mean it.
Speaker 2: This is my Bible. I am what it says I am.
Speaker 2: I have what it says I have. I can do
Speaker 2: what it says I can do. Today I will be
Speaker 2: taught the word of God. I boldly confess. My mind
Speaker 2: is alert, my heart is receptive. I will never be
Speaker 2: the same. In Jesus' name, God bless you. I want
Speaker 2: to talk to you today about learning to encourage yourself.
Speaker 2: One of the battles that we all have to fight
Speaker 2: is the battle with discouragement. Our dreams don't always happen
Speaker 2: on our timetables. We go through disappointments, adversities, and it's
Speaker 2: easy to lose our enthusiasm, to lose our zeal for life.
Speaker 2: And it's good to have family and friends that encourage us.
Speaker 2: It's good to have a coach, a teacher, a pastor
Speaker 2: to cheer us on. But one thing I've learned is
Speaker 2: other people cannot keep us encouraged. Other people can't keep
Speaker 2: us cheered up. They may give us a boost, they
Speaker 2: may help us from time to time, but if you're
Speaker 2: really going to live in victory, that encouragement has to
Speaker 2: come from the inside. You've got to learn to encourage
Speaker 2: yourself when times get tough and things aren't going your
Speaker 2: way and you don't feel like pursuing your dreams. Your
Speaker 2: mind is telling you it's not worth it, it's never
Speaker 2: going to get any better. You might as well just
Speaker 2: settle where you are deep down in your spirit. There
Speaker 2: has to be a resolve, a strength on the inside
Speaker 2: that says, I refuse to settle where I am. I
Speaker 2: know God has a great plan for my life, and
Speaker 2: I'm going to keep pressing forward and become everything that
Speaker 2: He's created me to be. This is what David had
Speaker 2: to do. He had just suffered a major setback. It's
Speaker 2: one of the most difficult times of his life. His
Speaker 2: city had been destroyed, his family was kidnapped, and now
Speaker 2: his own men had turned against him. Looked like an
Speaker 2: impossible situation. He could have easily just given up and
Speaker 2: faded off into the sunset, defeated and depressed. But the
Speaker 2: scripture says here David encouraged himself in the Lord his God.
Speaker 2: David understood this principle. He wasn't depending on his family,
Speaker 2: his friends, his colleagues. He knew how to draw strength
Speaker 2: and encouragement from within. And sometimes when you need it
Speaker 2: the most, the people you're counting on to cheer you up,
Speaker 2: unfortunately they won't be there for you. That friend that
Speaker 2: normally calls is out of town. Your spouse is having
Speaker 2: a tough month, your coworkers, your parents, they're preoccupied with
Speaker 2: their own challenges. But when you learn to dig down
Speaker 2: deep and encourage yourself, there's a real freedom. This is
Speaker 2: one of the secrets to David's success. He knew how
Speaker 2: to draw encouragement and strength from the inside. How did
Speaker 2: he do it? He began to replay the victories that
Speaker 2: God had given him in the past. He remembered how
Speaker 2: God chose him from the other brothers when he was
Speaker 2: a shepherd boy. He remembered how he killed the lion
Speaker 2: and the bear with his bare hands. He remembered how
Speaker 2: God helped him to defeat Goliath, and how God protected
Speaker 2: him when King Saul was trying to kill him.
Speaker 1: And as he rehearsed over and over.
Speaker 2: The goodness and faithfulness of God, strength began to fill
Speaker 2: his heart.
Speaker 1: He got a new vision of victory. He began to.
Speaker 2: Thank God for what he had done and thanked God
Speaker 2: that he could turn the situation around, and he went
Speaker 2: from being depressed and defeated to rising up with that
Speaker 2: warrior of mentality. When you're in difficult times and you're
Speaker 2: tempted to get down, maybe you got a bad medical report,
Speaker 2: or you're struggling in a relationship, struggling in your finances,
Speaker 2: in stead that of dwelling on the negative and replaying
Speaker 2: over and over all the reasons why it won't work
Speaker 2: out and how impossible it is. No, you need to
Speaker 2: change the channel, get the remote control. That's not the
Speaker 2: only channel. Start replaying, like David, all the times that
Speaker 2: God has helped you, The times God protected you from
Speaker 2: those accidents, The times God gave you a promotion even
Speaker 2: though you weren't the most qualified, the times that door closed.
Speaker 2: You were disappointed then, but looking back now, you know
Speaker 2: it would have been a big mistake.
Speaker 1: Or how about the times you lost that loved one.
Speaker 2: You should have been defeated, you didn't think you could
Speaker 2: make it through, but you felt a peace and a
Speaker 2: strength like you've never felt before. Every one of us
Speaker 2: has seen the hand of God at work in our lives,
Speaker 2: and a key to encouraging ourselves is to replay those victories.
Speaker 2: As you remember the great things God has done, faith
Speaker 2: will fill your heart. Strength and courage will come from
Speaker 2: the inside. No matter what you're facing, no matter how
Speaker 2: difficult it looks, you'll know deep down, God did not
Speaker 2: bring me this far.
Speaker 1: To leave me here.
Speaker 2: If he did it for me in the past, he'll
Speaker 2: do it again for me in the future. Some of
Speaker 2: you today, you'd get your joy back if you just
Speaker 2: change the channel. You're always remembering the negative, remembering what
Speaker 2: didn't work out, and who hurts you and how unfair
Speaker 2: it was. No wonder you're down. You're watching the wrong channel.
Speaker 2: God has done something great for every one of us.
Speaker 2: Maybe God's given you a child. The day that little baby.
Speaker 1: Was born, you were so excited.
Speaker 2: Why don't you replay that miracle in your mind. Maybe
Speaker 2: God's given you a house, He's given you a promotion,
Speaker 2: or maybe you got a good medical report. You were
Speaker 2: so thrilled, you were on cloud nine. Learn to replay
Speaker 2: those victories in your mind. If you're going to keep
Speaker 2: yourself encourage, you've got to make sure you're watching the
Speaker 2: right channel. I found you cannot stay down and defeated
Speaker 2: as long as you're thinking about the goodness of God.
Speaker 2: I know every time I see our new facility here
Speaker 2: at Lakewood, whether I'm driving by on the freeway or
Speaker 2: pulling up to a service, I always say, without fail,
Speaker 2: thank you Lord for our beautiful new building. I'm still
Speaker 2: amazed at what God has done. And whenever I see it,
Speaker 2: I don't even have to think about it anymore. It
Speaker 2: just comes out of me naturally. I guess I've developed
Speaker 2: a habit. I've probably said that phrase ten thousand times
Speaker 2: every time I do. You know what's happening. I'm encouraging myself.
Speaker 2: My faith is increasing.
Speaker 1: I can feel.
Speaker 2: Strength on the inside. I know if God gave us
Speaker 2: this building, he can do anything. It's funny our son, Jonathan,
Speaker 2: he's thirteen now. The other day he and my friend
Speaker 2: Johnny were coming back from the airport Victoria and I.
Speaker 2: We had gone on to another city and on the
Speaker 2: route home pass our new facility, and as they were
Speaker 2: driving by, Jonathan said to Johnny, let me say it
Speaker 2: for my dad, thank.
Speaker 1: You Lord for our beautiful new building.
Speaker 2: He's heard me say it so much, now he's saying it.
Speaker 2: The Scripture says we should tell our children and our
Speaker 2: grandchildren the Great things God has done. But I see
Speaker 2: too many people today they've just settled where they are.
Speaker 2: When we give in to the spirit of discouragement, it
Speaker 2: steals our dreams. Their attitude is it's not worth it,
Speaker 2: my marriage is not worth fighting for, it's never gonna
Speaker 2: work out. Or I'm tired of dealing with this child.
Speaker 2: It's not worth the struggle. I'm tired of doing what's right. Joel,
Speaker 2: I'm never gonna get ahead. No, don't believe those lies.
Speaker 2: That is the spirit of discouragement, trying to steal your
Speaker 2: dreams and keep you right where you are.
Speaker 1: Let me tell you something that you already know deep
Speaker 1: down in your spirit.
Speaker 2: Every promise that put in your heart, every dream that
Speaker 2: He's planted on the inside, is well.
Speaker 1: Worth the fight.
Speaker 2: Your child is worth it, your marriage is worth it,
Speaker 2: your health is worth it, Your dreams are worth it.
Speaker 1: Don't you dare settle where you are.
Speaker 2: You may have suffered a setback, like David, You've been
Speaker 2: through a disappointment, maybe your relationship didn't work out, Maybe
Speaker 2: you're facing a major health issue right now. Remember this,
Speaker 2: every setback is a setup for a comeback. You may
Speaker 2: have gotten knocked down, but you didn't get knocked out.
Speaker 2: You got to get back up, dust yourself off. God
Speaker 2: has you in the palm of his hand. He said,
Speaker 2: if you'd stay in faith, he would not only bring
Speaker 2: you out, but he'd bring you out better off than
Speaker 2: you were before. This is what David had to do.
Speaker 2: He was down, but he didn't stay down. He started
Speaker 2: replaying his victories. He started thanking God for what he
Speaker 2: had done in the past.
Speaker 1: And as he changed the channel and.
Speaker 2: Got into that attitude of faith and expectancy, that's when
Speaker 2: he went from being a victim to being a victor.
Speaker 2: He said to his men, get up, guys, we're going
Speaker 2: to go attack the enemy. The scripture says they not
Speaker 2: only recovered everything that had been stolen, but they came
Speaker 2: out with more than they had before. That's what God
Speaker 2: wants to do for every one of us. But it
Speaker 2: all started when David encouraged himself. He recognized the main
Speaker 2: battle wasn't taking place on the outside, it was taking
Speaker 2: place on the inside. When all the odds were against him.
Speaker 2: His family wasn't there, his friends had turned on him,
Speaker 2: the news wasn't good, the economy was low, gas was high.
Speaker 2: His attitude was I'm not worried about any of that.
Speaker 2: I know the God I serve is well able to
Speaker 2: deliver men. He said, in effect, I've seen God lift
Speaker 2: me out of the pit before he set my fat
Speaker 2: on a rock, put a new song in my heart.
Speaker 2: And if he did it for me back then, I
Speaker 2: know he'll do it for me right now. That's the
Speaker 2: kind of attitude that gets God's attention. Now, I know
Speaker 2: every one of us can look back in life and say,
Speaker 2: with David, if it had not been for the goodness
Speaker 2: of God, where would I be?
Speaker 1: In other words, I should have had.
Speaker 2: A nervous breakdown when I went through that divorce, but
Speaker 2: God filled me with his strength. I should have given
Speaker 2: up and gotten depressed when my loved one died, but
Speaker 2: God gave me a new beginning. I shouldn't be here
Speaker 2: today according to the medical report, but because of the
Speaker 2: goodness of God, I'm still alive and well. My business
Speaker 2: should have gone bankrupt a long time ago, but because
Speaker 2: of God's favor he turned it around. Or how about
Speaker 2: I should be messed up in my mind all the
Speaker 2: addictions I had, But because of the mercy of God,
Speaker 2: my chains are broken and I'm totally free today.
Speaker 1: Here's another one.
Speaker 2: My family shouldn't be torn apart, but because of God's goodness,
Speaker 2: we're still here together. You cannot get down and defeated
Speaker 2: as long as you're meditating on the goodness of God.
Speaker 2: Some of you today you're watching the wrong channel. You
Speaker 2: need to switch off the defeat channel. Switch off the
Speaker 2: who hurt me channel, the I come from the wrong
Speaker 2: family channel, the gloom and despair channel. Turn that all
Speaker 2: and switch on to the victory channel, to the All
Speaker 2: Things are Possible channels to the God as well able channel,
Speaker 2: to the by best.
Speaker 1: Days are ahead of me channel.
Speaker 2: As you remember the good things God has done, faith
Speaker 2: is going to fill your heart.
Speaker 1: Another thing that can help us.
Speaker 2: To stay encouraged is we need to create an encouragement
Speaker 2: file at home or the office. Whenever someone sends you
Speaker 2: a kind note, someone gives you a compliment, put it
Speaker 2: in that file. Then, when you're tempted to be down,
Speaker 2: go get those letters out and reread them again. Let
Speaker 2: those works lift your spirits many times, after just five
Speaker 2: or ten minutes of being reminded of how much people
Speaker 2: loved you and reminded of some of the good things
Speaker 2: you've done, that'll totally change your attitude. This is what
Speaker 2: I did when I first started ministring a little over
Speaker 2: nine years ago. I started this encouragement file. Whenever someone
Speaker 2: would send me a note, a letter, or even give
Speaker 2: me a compliment, many times I'd just write it down
Speaker 2: and put it in the file. And back in those days,
Speaker 2: if someone said something even halfway encouraging, I would put
Speaker 2: it in there. I remember this elderly man that I
Speaker 2: used to see if at the gym. He was always
Speaker 2: kidding me about something, but he wrote me a note.
Speaker 2: It said, Joel, I watched your sermon on television yesterday.
Speaker 1: All I can say is better luck next time listen.
Speaker 2: I was so happy that at least he watched. I
Speaker 2: put that in my file. Sometimes you can't be picky.
Speaker 2: Thank god today that's in file thirteen.
Speaker 1: That anymore.
Speaker 2: One time, this little boy came up to me after
Speaker 2: my sermon, right after I'd started. He probably wasn't five
Speaker 2: or six years old. He said, Jeel, I really loved
Speaker 2: listening to your stories.
Speaker 1: I was feeling so good then, he said.
Speaker 2: But if I were you, I'd leave out all that
Speaker 2: other boring stuff. But we all need to have an
Speaker 2: encouragement file, and in my file now I have letters
Speaker 2: and compliments birthday cards. Not long ago, one of my
Speaker 2: third grade teachers wrote my mom a note and told
Speaker 2: what a good student I was, how friendly I was,
Speaker 2: and how I smiled so much. Even back then, that
Speaker 2: encouraged me. I put that in my file, and now,
Speaker 2: probably once a month, at least of a couple of months,
Speaker 2: I'll get that file out and flip through some of
Speaker 2: those letters.
Speaker 1: What am I doing.
Speaker 2: I'm encouraging myself. It's like being on a good maintenance program.
Speaker 2: You need to do it on a regular basis. Now,
Speaker 2: you said, Jeel, I don't have anything to.
Speaker 1: Put in my encouragement file.
Speaker 2: Nobody's sending me nice nos, nobody's complimenting me, nobody's given
Speaker 2: me any credit.
Speaker 1: That's okay. Here's the solution.
Speaker 2: You need to write yourself some good letters. Write down
Speaker 2: what you like about you, List your streets, list your accomplishments.
Speaker 2: List some of the good things you've done for others.
Speaker 2: I found when nobody else is celebrating you, you've got
Speaker 2: to learn to celebrate yourself. When nobody else is complimenting you,
Speaker 2: you need to compliment yourself. Nobody's writing you good letters.
Speaker 2: Write yourself some good letters. It's not up to other
Speaker 2: people to keep you encourage.
Speaker 1: It's up to you.
Speaker 2: It's got to come from the inside. This is what
Speaker 2: God did. He praised himself, says in the Book of Genesis.
Speaker 2: God created the waters, and he said that was good.
Speaker 2: He created the sky and he said that was good.
Speaker 2: He created the fish and the animals, and he stepped
Speaker 2: back and said that was good. He created you and
Speaker 2: me and said that was really good.
Speaker 1: I love the fact that God praised himself. These days.
Speaker 2: Most of the time we are so critical toward ourselves
Speaker 2: and so focused on what we didn't do right. We
Speaker 2: would never even think about complementing ourselves. But Joel, I've
Speaker 2: got these faults. I'm struggling with this addiction, or I'm
Speaker 2: not nearly as talented as my coworkers. No, you need
Speaker 2: to find something that you're doing right so you can
Speaker 2: step back and say, you know what, that was good.
Speaker 2: Even when you walk out of this building, you need
Speaker 2: to pat yourself on the back and say I did
Speaker 2: something right today. I took time to honor God by
Speaker 2: coming to church, by watching the broadcast. I must say
Speaker 2: I did good when I walk off this platform. Each week,
Speaker 2: I look at myself in the mirror and say, Joel.
Speaker 1: You did good today.
Speaker 2: I may not have done as good as somebody else,
Speaker 2: but I did the best that I can do, and
Speaker 2: that's all that really matters.
Speaker 1: Here's my point.
Speaker 2: If you're not able to compliment yourself, you'll never become
Speaker 2: everything God's created you to be. You've got to feel
Speaker 2: good about who you are. And I'm not talking about
Speaker 2: being arrogant and going around thinking that we're better than somebody.
Speaker 2: I'm talking about learning to accept and approve yourself.
Speaker 3: Now.
Speaker 2: I want you to get in a habit not of
Speaker 2: catching yourself doing something wrong, but start catching yourself doing
Speaker 2: something right. I hear people that are always condemning themselves.
Speaker 2: There I go again, spent too much money. There I
Speaker 2: go again, I ate something that I shouldn't have. There
Speaker 2: I go again, lost my temper. They always see the wrong, never.
Speaker 1: See the right.
Speaker 2: Well, Joel, I'm just kind of down on myself because
Speaker 2: I didn't work out one time last week.
Speaker 1: Maybe not. But you did take the stairs instead of
Speaker 1: the elevator. That was good. Well.
Speaker 2: I didn't clean my house yesterday like I wanted to.
Speaker 2: Maybe not, But you did go to your child's ball game.
Speaker 1: That was good.
Speaker 2: Well, I didn't take my friend out to lunch like
Speaker 2: I promised. No, but you sure were kind to that
Speaker 2: security guard. Quit catching yourself doing something wrong and start
Speaker 2: catching yourself doing something right. You've got to change the channel.
Speaker 2: Some of you have never once said to yourself. I'm
Speaker 2: a good mother, I'm a good father. I'm talented and creative.
Speaker 2: I'm kind and considerate. I don't say this arrogantly, but
Speaker 2: I like who God made me to be.
Speaker 1: Now.
Speaker 2: I love to compliment other people, but I've learned even
Speaker 2: to compliment myself. I like the gifts God's given me.
Speaker 2: I like my personality. I like my height, I like
Speaker 2: my age. I like what I'm able to do. One
Speaker 2: of the recordings that's always playing in my mind all
Speaker 2: through the day is Joel.
Speaker 1: You're a good father, you a good husband.
Speaker 2: You're talented, you're creative, you're kind, You're fun to be around. Listen,
Speaker 2: it's not hard to stay encouraged when you learn to
Speaker 2: compliment yourself. Sometimes we think it's humble to compliment somebody
Speaker 2: else while we kind of put ourselves down.
Speaker 1: Man, you're so good at that.
Speaker 2: I could never do anything like you. No, you can
Speaker 2: do exactly what God's created you to do. I have
Speaker 2: people tell me, Joel, I could never speak in front
Speaker 2: of all those people like you do. Maybe not, but
Speaker 2: I could never fly an airplane like you do. I
Speaker 2: could never design houses like you do so great. I
Speaker 2: could never teach those children like you do each week
Speaker 2: and excel at the fact is every one of us
Speaker 2: is good at something. We shouldn't look at somebody else
Speaker 2: and think, man, they are so talented, they are so creative,
Speaker 2: they are so disciplined, they are so good looking.
Speaker 1: I don't know what in the world happened to me.
Speaker 2: No, you need to start looking at yourself in the
Speaker 2: mirror and saying, you are so talented, you are so creative,
Speaker 2: you are so disciplined, you good looking thing. You got
Speaker 2: to compliment yourself. You need to try it. It may work.
Speaker 2: It didn't for my brother Paul, but you tried anyway.
Speaker 2: I know this young lady in junior high, she didn't
Speaker 2: have very many friends. They had just moved to this
Speaker 2: new school and most of the students had grown up
Speaker 2: together and been friends for years and years, and she
Speaker 2: was having a tough time breaking in and really connecting
Speaker 2: with anybody. And the school had a tradition that during
Speaker 2: Valentine's Week, you could send another student a carnation. They
Speaker 2: were only twenty five cents, and those carnations would be
Speaker 2: delivered on Valentine's Day during homeroom in front of the
Speaker 2: whole class.
Speaker 1: It was a big deal to see how many carnations
Speaker 1: you would get.
Speaker 2: Well, this young lady knew that she wasn't going to
Speaker 2: receive any She didn't have any friends.
Speaker 1: She was sort of dreading that day.
Speaker 2: Thinking about how she is going to be left out
Speaker 2: and probably embarrassed by it all.
Speaker 1: But then she came up with a great idea.
Speaker 2: Instead of just sitting back watching everybody else get flowers,
Speaker 2: she decided to send herself some carnation. She took five
Speaker 2: dollars and went down to the office and she got
Speaker 2: twenty different forms so nobody would know they were from her,
Speaker 2: and she filled them out and on Valentine's Day, most
Speaker 2: of the young ladies got three.
Speaker 1: Or four carnations.
Speaker 2: The real popular girls may have gotten five or six
Speaker 2: or seven. But this young lady, every other carnation came
Speaker 2: to her. The students started looking at her, thinking, who
Speaker 2: in the world.
Speaker 1: Is this girl?
Speaker 2: She's got so many friends. Another carnation was delivered to her.
Speaker 2: They asked, who's that from. She looked at the note
Speaker 2: and said, Oh, they are so special. They love me
Speaker 2: so much. I can't wait to tell them thanks.
Speaker 1: They had no idea she was talking about herself.
Speaker 2: You would have thought she was the most popular girl
Speaker 2: in school. She left that day the envy of the
Speaker 2: whole class. She had more carnations than anybody else. You
Speaker 2: got to have the attitude. If nobody else is celebrating
Speaker 2: me right now, I'm going to celebrate myself if nobody,
Speaker 2: If nobody is asking me out to dinner, I'm gonna
Speaker 2: dress up and take myself out to dinner. Nobody's sending
Speaker 2: me a birthday gift, Watch out, I'm gonna buy myself
Speaker 2: a present. Some of you, ladies, you need to do
Speaker 2: like she did. Just send yourself some flowers. Have them
Speaker 2: delivered to your office, put them on your desk. People
Speaker 2: walk by, All of those are so beautiful.
Speaker 1: Who are they from?
Speaker 2: Just smile and say they're from somebody that thinks I'm
Speaker 2: very very special, somebody that loves me very much. If
Speaker 2: you're gonna stay encouraged, you've got.
Speaker 1: To learn to celebrate yourself.
Speaker 2: Some of you today, you've lost your fire, You've lost
Speaker 2: your enthusiasm. Maybe it's because nobody's celebrating you, nobody's cheering
Speaker 2: you on, nobody's encouraging you. You've got to do like
Speaker 2: David and start encouraging yourself. Draw that line in the
Speaker 2: sand and say that's it. This is a new day.
Speaker 2: I am done living negative discourage, no enthusiasm. I know
Speaker 2: this is the day the Lord has made. I'm gonna
Speaker 2: choose to live this day with faith, with expectancy, and
Speaker 2: really the only way that we can keep ourselves encouraged
Speaker 2: is by thinking these encouraging thoughts, thoughts of hope, thoughts
Speaker 2: of faith. You've got to tune into that voice of victory.
Speaker 2: There's a scripture I love. It says God will perfect
Speaker 2: that which concerns you. Perfect means God will make it right.
Speaker 2: You may be concerned about a child today, concerned about
Speaker 2: a health issue, or concerned about an addiction you're struggling with.
Speaker 2: The easy thing would be to just accept it and
Speaker 2: settle where you are and think, Joel, this is just
Speaker 2: who I am.
Speaker 1: It's never going to change.
Speaker 3: No.
Speaker 2: Recognize that's the voice of discouragement trying to talk you
Speaker 2: into settling for a life of mediocrity. But understand, you
Speaker 2: were never created to be average. You were never created
Speaker 2: to barely get by. You were created to be above
Speaker 2: only and never beneath. No matter what you may be facing,
Speaker 2: no matter how impossible it looks, you need to keep
Speaker 2: reminding yourself that right now, God is in the process
Speaker 2: of perfecting that which concerns you. Right now, God's working
Speaker 2: behind the scenes in your life, arranging things in your favor,
Speaker 2: getting the right people, the right breaks, the right opportunities
Speaker 2: lined out for you. God said he would finish what
Speaker 2: he started. He will complete your incompletions. He wants to
Speaker 2: bring to past every dream, every desire, every.
Speaker 1: Promise that He's put in your heart.
Speaker 2: When you hear those negative voices telling you that it's
Speaker 2: never going to change, You're never gonna get well, you're
Speaker 2: never going to break that addiction, don't stay tuned to
Speaker 2: that channel. That's not the only voice. There's another voice.
Speaker 2: It's called the voice of Victory, and it says, no
Speaker 2: weapon formed against you.
Speaker 1: Is ever going to prosper.
Speaker 2: It says, when you delight yourself the Lord, he'll give
Speaker 2: you the desires of your heart. It says, what was
Speaker 2: meant for your harm. God will turn around and use
Speaker 2: it for your advantage. You may have gone through a setback,
Speaker 2: but you need to dig your heels in and get
Speaker 2: ready for a comeback. God did not bring you this
Speaker 2: far to leave you where you are. He has you
Speaker 2: in the palm of his hand. He had the solution
Speaker 2: before you ever had that problem. He already has a
Speaker 2: way out. God knows the end from the beginning, and
Speaker 2: everything you're facing right now is subject to change. That
Speaker 2: means one touch of God's favor and it can turn
Speaker 2: any situation around. You got to dare to do like David,
Speaker 2: shake off that spirit of discouragement and say I made
Speaker 2: thee knocked down, but I'm not staying down. I'm going
Speaker 2: to get back up and go again. Tune into the
Speaker 2: voice of victory. You know the negative voices. They'll tell you, Well,
Speaker 2: the economy's kind of bad, aren't you afraid?
Speaker 1: No, I know God is my provider. He supplies all
Speaker 1: of my needs.
Speaker 2: Well, gas is kind of high, yes, but God's well
Speaker 2: able to take care of me. Well, your child's not
Speaker 2: doing right, that's true, but I know he's subject to change. Well,
Speaker 2: you got laid off. I heard you lost your job.
Speaker 2: Aren't you frustrated, not at all. I know God's about
Speaker 2: to open up another door. I know He's got something
Speaker 2: better in store. Well, you look like you're not feeling well.
Speaker 2: Somebody says you got a bad report from the doctor. Yes,
Speaker 2: I did, But I know God is in complete control.
Speaker 2: He said that nothing would snatch me out of his hand.
Speaker 2: So I believe I'm going to live out every second
Speaker 2: that He's planned out for me. That's what it means
Speaker 2: to be tuned into the right voice, the voice of
Speaker 2: victory in life. Every one of us is going to
Speaker 2: have opportunities to get down and discouraged. My message to
Speaker 2: us today is we don't have to give in to
Speaker 2: that temptation. Get up every morning thinking about the goodness
Speaker 2: of God. Replay the victories that He's given you in
Speaker 2: the past. Don't worry remember the negative, change the channel,
Speaker 2: and remember all the times God's brought you through. If
Speaker 2: you don't have an encouragement file, start one. When you
Speaker 2: are tempted to get down, go get those letters out,
Speaker 2: lift them, lift your spirit, and don't wait for others
Speaker 2: to compliment you. Compliment yourself. Learn to celebrate who God
Speaker 2: made you to be. Friends, It's up to you to
Speaker 2: keep yourself encouraged. Some of you have been depending on
Speaker 2: your friends your family. Don't put that pressure on them.
Speaker 2: You can draw strength from the inside as you learn
Speaker 2: to encourage yourself.
Speaker 1: That's your faith at work.
Speaker 2: Not only are you going to enjoy your life more,
Speaker 2: but you're going to overcome every obstacle. You're going to
Speaker 2: see every dream, every desire, every promise put in you
Speaker 2: come to pass.
Speaker 1: And not only that, even when you do get knocked
Speaker 1: down and.
Speaker 2: Suffer a setback, just like David, God will make sure
Speaker 2: you not only come back, but you come back better
Speaker 2: off than you were before.
Speaker 1: Amen. Do you receive it today?
Speaker 3: It's a new year. Time to say the impossible become possible.
Speaker 1: It's a new year.
Speaker 3: Life setbacks are about to become God's setups for new opportunity.
Speaker 3: It's a new year cherished dreams will become unexpected reality.
Speaker 2: The start of the new year is the perfect time
Speaker 2: to reset your focus, release disappointments of the past, and
Speaker 2: get ready for the new things God has in store.
Speaker 2: Every January we create a new three hundred and sixty
Speaker 2: five day devotional calendar.
Speaker 1: I'd love to send it to you.
Speaker 2: Each day is filled with inspiration, scripture and uplifting declarations
Speaker 2: to fuel your faith. When you begin the day thanking
Speaker 2: God for what He's done, speaking victory over your future,
Speaker 2: you're positioning yourself for a blessed, favor filled year. Amazing
Speaker 2: things happen when you keep God first place.
Speaker 3: As our way of saying thank you for your gift
Speaker 3: of any amount this first month of the year, we
Speaker 3: would like to send you a copy of our brand
Speaker 3: new three hundred and sixty five day twenty twenty six
Speaker 3: fotional calendar. Do you want to overcome your most pressing
Speaker 3: challenges in twenty twenty six?
Speaker 1: Do you want to see.
Speaker 3: Your life take off in new directions of influence, favor,
Speaker 3: and provision in the year ahead. With this daily encouragement,
Speaker 3: you'll not only smile at your day, You'll be reminded
Speaker 3: that God is smiling on your entire life. Each day
Speaker 3: will be a fresh new day.
Speaker 1: Turn discouragement to encouragement.
Speaker 3: Frustration to fulfillment, anxiety to overcoming. Start each morning knowing
Speaker 3: that it's God's desire to turn what seems like an
Speaker 3: ordinary life into extraordinary favor, strength, and opportunities. Using this
Speaker 3: devotional calendar is as easy as one two three, one
Speaker 3: wake up with an expectancy in your heart. Two reflect
Speaker 3: on the daily scripture, verse and devotional from Joel. Three
Speaker 3: Capture the Lord's promises to you on journaling lines for
Speaker 3: rating and reflection.
Speaker 2: Twenty twenty six is going to be one of your
Speaker 2: best years ever. We're going to help you stay in
Speaker 2: faith so you can see the goodness of God in
Speaker 2: new ways. Victoria and I pray for you and your
Speaker 2: family every day, and we want to thank you for
Speaker 2: your prayer and support. Your generosity is impacting lives around
Speaker 2: the world. A special thank you to our Champion of
Speaker 2: Hope partners for your monthly gifts. If you're not a partner,
Speaker 2: I hope you'll consider becoming one. Remember you can watch
Speaker 2: the services online live every Sunday morning, download our daily podcast,
Speaker 2: watch on YouTube or the new Joel ostein Network twenty
Speaker 2: four hours a day.
Speaker 1: Of course, listen live on Serious XM as well. But
Speaker 1: until we meet again, may the Lord bless you and
Speaker 1: keep you.
Speaker 3: Be sure to request your copy of the twenty twenty
Speaker 3: sixth devotional calendar available this month by simply visiting us
Speaker 3: at Joeloustein dot com or calling eight eight eight five
Speaker 3: six seven Joel Also, no matter what season you're in, joy, sorrow, waiting, growth,
Speaker 3: God wants to speak into each and every moment. God's
Speaker 3: Word for Every Season is a guided journal series designed
Speaker 3: to help you slow down, write out scripture, and reflect
Speaker 3: on its truth, one verse at a time. As you
Speaker 3: engage with His Word, you'll discover fresh strength, deeper peace,
Speaker 3: and timely encouragement for every step of your journey. You
Speaker 3: can request these inspiring resources by calling eight eight eight
Speaker 3: five six seven Joel or logging on to jolostein dot
Speaker 3: com today. Call or click anytime, twenty four hours a day.
Speaker 3: Request these resources today